Tehran claims achieving 60pc uranium enrichment

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf confirmed on Friday that Iran had successfully enriched uranium to 60pc purity and praised the country’s nuclear scientists for the achievement. DEBKAfile: The damage caused on Sunday to the Natanz enrichment plant has made it impossible for Iran to attain this level of uranium purity. The Speaker may be referring to a small amount that could have been enriched to 60pc before the plant was disrupted.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Iran’s goal of enriching its uranium would be a “provocative” act that may complicate Washington’s desire to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, amid talks with world powers in Vienna.